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The Week in Review…
MAC Alum Returns - Kate Ryan Reiling, captain of Macalester’s 1998 national championship women’s soccer squad, returns to her alma mater as the new head women’s soccer coach. She replaces John Leaney, who retired from coaching following a longtime and distinguished career at Macalester. A three-time All-America midfielder, Ryan Reiling led Macalester to the NCAA Division III championship as a junior, and in her senior campaign was selected MIAC Player of the Year as the Scots finished runner-up in the NCAA playoffs. She was Director of Coaching and Player Development at CC United Club in Chaska, assistant coach at St. Catherine University, and assistant to Leaney at Mac from 2004-07.
Best in Division III - Gustavus men's hockey standout David Martinson (Sr., St. Louis Park, Minn.) maintained his position as the top goal scorer in Division III with four goals in the Gusties weekend series against Saint John's. Martinson has now scored 20 goals in 19 games this season, which is two goals better than Mickey Lang of Manhattanville College of New York with 18. In just two-and-a-half seasons at Gustavus, Martinson has scored 67 goals and registered 48 assists for 115 points in 75 games. He currently ranks 14th all-time at Gustavus in career goals (67) and 20th all-time in career points (115).
Tommies on Top - St. Thomas men’s baseball teams is ranked No. 1 in the 2010 preseason polls by the ABCA and D3Baseball.com. Interim head coach Chris Olean will have 19 of his top 25 players back from last season's NCAA championship team. The Toms will be tested early with Metrodome games against Division I Minnesota and D-III ranked teams Carthage and St. Scholastica. The showdown MIAC doubleheader against No. 25-ranked St. Olaf is scheduled for the last day of the regular season, Sat. May 8 in Northfield. Practices start next Monday, and UST will work out off campus until weather allows for outdoor drills.
100-Years Old and Going Strong - Carleton celebrated the 100th anniversary of varsity basketball on Saturday, Jan. 23. In conjunction with the day’s activities, the school announced its All-Century Teams for both men's and women's hoops. With 100 years of history, including more than 2,000 games for the men and nearly 800 games for the women, it proved a difficult challenge to put together these squads. For the full All-Century Teams, Click Here.
Butorac finds success Down Under - Eric Butorac, a 2003 graduate of Gustavus and former Gustie tennis player, and his partner Rajeev Ram, advanced to the quarterfinals of the doubles draw at the Australian Open. Butorac and Ram narrowly missed advancing to the semifinals with a heartbreaking loss to Bob and Mike Bryan, the #1 ranked doubles team in the world, by the score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2). Butorac, who is currently ranked #43 in the world in doubles, has won six Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) titles, including two with his current partner Ram.
Split to Second - The St. Kate's hockey team split their weekend series with St. Olaf. With their 3-2 win in the series finale, the Wildcats remained in sole possession of second place in the MIAC with 12 points. Coach Brad Marshall's team is now 10-3 overall, which is the best start in school history for the St. Kate's-eclipsing the 1999-00 team that started the year 9-4-1. Cassie Rooney was named the MIAC Women's Hockey Athlete of the Week after her four point weekend in the Wildcats battle with St. Olaf. Rooney had two goals and one assist to lead the team to a 3-2 win over the Oles. After 13 games, Rooney is tied for tenth in the MIAC with 13 points this season.
Heating up in January - January is always a pivotal month for MIAC basketball teams with as many as 10 games in a 29-day stretch. The sixth-ranked Tommie men's basketball team won four games in four different gyms in an eight-day stretch from Jan. 16-23 to move back into sole possession of the MIAC lead. Coach Steve Fritz' team is 43-5 in January games over the last five seasons. Junior guards Tyler Nicolai and Alex Healy continue their strong play. Nicolai is third in scoring and first in steals and 3-pointers among MIAC players. Healy is converting 53% from 3-point range. When Healy has scored in double figures on his career, St. Thomas is 17-0.
Renne On Fire - Augsburg women's basketball guard Shannon Renne (JR, Nicollet, Minn.) has been on fire from the outside during the past two weeks. In Augsburg's last four games, Renne has averaged 26 points per-game, connecting on 22-of-44 from beyond the three-point arc and 36-of-71 (.507) overall from the field. Following her MIAC-record nine 3-pointer, 35-point effort in a win over Carleton on Jan. 16, she followed it up with a 26-point effort against St. Mary's, a 32-point effort against Hamline and an 11-point effort against St. Catherine. Renne now has a conference-high (overall) 43 three-pointers, 10 away from Augsburg's single-season school record of 53. Her 128 career three-pointers put her in second place in school history, behind the 149 by Katie LaGrave (2004-08).
St. Kate’s Invitational – St. Catherine hosted the St. Kate’s Invitational last weekend at the Butler Center Swimming Pool. Several MIAC men’s and women’s teams competed as well as other. On the women’s side, St. Thomas came away victorious with 671 points followed by Concordia in second with 522, St. Catherine in third with 505.5, Macalester in fourth with 360, Hamline in seventh at 237 and Augsburg in eighth with 65. On the men’s side, St. Thomas won in convincing fashion with 878.5 points, Macalester was third with 297 and Hamline was fourth with 84 points.
Rookies Rule the Pool - Thirteen freshmen contributed to individual or relay wins last Saturday as the Tommie men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept team titles at Saturday’s St. Catherine Invitational. Katie Bromback was a triple winner and Wendy Consoer, Jenny Bruno and Alexis Rodarmel swam on winning relays. For the men, divers Ryan Panure and Jeff Issacson and swimmers David Bailly, Ethan Nimens, Lucas Brandt, Michael Hoelterhoff and Ben Ruhme won individual events; Sam Rauchwarter and Steve Stark swam on first-place relays.
Vaulting to the Top - St. Olaf junior Amie Fillmore vaulted her way to the top 10 list in Division III with her effort on Saturday at the Tostrud Center. Fillmore's 3.54 meter vault won the event and put her 10th on the NCAA Division III national list. Fillmore is the vault leader of the MIAC, 19 inches ahead of the second best performance.
Sounding Like a Broken Record – Bethel men’s track and field athlete Dan Greeno earned MIAC Track Athlete of the Week honors for earning an NCAA provisional time in the mile run at 4:15.99, and setting a new school record in the process. The week before, Greeno set a new school record in the 3,000 meter run. In both cases, he broke a record previously held by Carl Gladitsch, both set in 2008.
MIAC teams receive mention on ESPN.com - In this week’s ESPN Tuesday Morning Quarterback series by Gregg Easterbrook, several MIAC institutions are mentioned in matchups the writer would like to see next season. To read the entire article, Click Here.
Just Like Justin - Just like Justin Timberlake's ping pong paddle in his Sony commercial with Peyton Manning, Concordia women's hockey player Katelyn Dold (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech HS) is "ooo, ahh" on fire. Dold had three goals and two assists in the Cobbers' weekend sweep over Augsburg. Dold has now had at least one point in nine of the 10 games and has a conference-leading 22 points on the season. Her 22 points is the most by a Cobber player since Katie Jacques had 37 in the 2002-03 season. In conference play Dold has six goals and eight assists for 14 points which also leads the league.
Winning in Convincing Fashion - All 11 Macalester women’s basketball conference wins have been by double figures and seven have been by blowouts of 18 points or more, including the last six wins. Macalester’s hasn’t played a game decided by less than 10 points since late November and they currently share a spot in first place in the conference standings with Concordia and Gustavus.
The Not-So-Dirty Dozens - Both the Carleton men’s and women’s swimming/diving teams won 12 events at the Carleton Mini-Invite on Saturday. Highlighting the day was junior Eric Brenner’s (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) performance on the 1- and 3-meter diving boards where he posted season-best scores in both events, including a NCAA qualifying score of 287.90 off the higher board. That ranks as the top score in the MIAC for 6-dive competition this season and helped him earn his first career MIAC men's swimming and diving athlete of the week honor.
One more Provo - Hamline junior thrower Derall King (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) was named the MIAC men's field athlete of the week on Monday. King won two events at Saturday's St. Olaf Triangular and met the NCAA provisional mark in shot put for the second consecutive meet. He won the shot put with a toss of 16.17 meters (53-0 3/4), meeting the NCAA provisional mark for the second week in a row. He won the weight throw with a distance of 15.49 meters (50-10).
Nerve to Serve – Saint Benedict junior hockey player Gretchen Leyendecker — who was tied for the team lead in scoring heading into this past weekend's series against Gustavus — is involved with the ROTC program on campus and is going through the process of joining officially. Both her grandfathers served in World War II and her older brother Adam is a Marine. Leyendecker’s full story can be found in the St. Cloud Times, to read it Click Here.
In the Nick of Time - Concordia sophomore men's hockey player Nick Thielen (Moorhead, Minn.) earned his 20th point of the season in the Cobbers' split with Augsburg last weekend. Thielen currently leads the team in scoring and is fourth in the MIAC in scoring in conference games. The 20 overall points is 14 more than he had in all of last season.
A MIAC Leader - Although the Johnnies posted a 1-2 mark last week, junior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) has continued to stay hot. He averaged 17 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.67 assists and two steals per game while shooting 58.1 percent last week. Burtzel currently leads the MIAC (conference games only) in rebounding (10.4 rpg.), shooting percentage (.702), assists (5.08 apg.) and minutes played (36.25 mpg.).
They just keep going and going - The Concordia women's basketball team earned three conference wins last week and now stands at 11-2 in conference play, tied for first with Gustavus and Macalester. The Cobbers are one of three teams tied atop the league standings. The 11 MIAC wins marks the 27th consecutive season that Concordia has won at least 10 games in conference play. That streak is the longest in the MIAC.
Cache of Goals - Saint Mary’s women’s hockey player Katie Cachey (Orland Park, Ill.) had a part in all three SMU goals in last Saturday’s 3-1 win over Bethel — assisting on the first two goals, then scoring a goal of her own in the third period. The Saints (5-2-1 MIAC, 8-6-1) are currently tied for third in the conference standings with Gustavus (5-2-1 MIAC, 8-3-2).
Moving On Up - Augsburg men's basketball guard Jon Cassens (SR, Prior Lake, Minn.) is moving up the Augsburg all-time scoring list. In 93 career games, Cassens now has 1,260 points (13.5 ppg), good for ninth place in school history, just 23 points shy of tying eighth place. Augsburg's career scoring record is 2,271 points, set by Brian Ammann (1981-85). Cassens' 140 career three-pointers put him in sixth place in school history.
10-Spot - The St. Olaf women's hockey team split its MIAC series with St. Catherine University last weekend to go to 5-3-0 in league play and 9-6-0 overall. The next win will give the team its first double-digit win total in three seasons.
Lighting the Lamp - The Saint John’s hockey team (5-9-3, 1-6-1 MIAC) scored seven goals against MIAC-leading Gustavus last weekend but could only muster one conference point via a 3-3 tie on Friday. The No. 10 Gusties defeated SJU 6-4 on Sunday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Johnnies return home to host Concordia this Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 30-31, at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The last time SJU played Concordia and was behind the Cobbers in the MIAC standings was during the 2001-02 season. The Johnnies entered the weekend with a 1-3-2 record in the MIAC, while Concordia was 4-3-1. SJU swept the weekend series with scores of 3-2 and 5-2.
Here They Go Again – Carleton Veteran track and field athletes Simone Childs-Walker (So./Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) and Laura Roach (Sr./Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) opened the indoor track season in fine fashion, placing 1-2 in both the mile run and the 3,000-meter race at the St. Olaf Triangular on Saturday. Both are coming off All-America performances in cross country during the fall. In recognition of her performances on the oval last weekend, Childs-Walker was honored as the MIAC women's indoor track athlete of the week. She was an All-American in both indoor and outdoor track in 2009.
Young Player, Veteran Start - Saint Mary’s first year women’s basketball player Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) has accounted for three of the Cardinals’ five 20-point performances this season (27, 22 and 21 points). In the Cardinal’s game against the Bethel Royals last Saturday, Thone tallied her first collegiate double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds.
What 2 Watch 4…
Men’s Basketball Games to Watch - The Augsburg men’s basketball team will travel to Concordia-St. Paul to play St. Thomas tomorrow night in a battle of two hot teams. Augsburg has won four of their last five contests while St. Thomas has posted four wins in the last eight days. While #6 St. Thomas (11-1 MIAC, 15-2 Overall) sits at the top of the conference standings, Augsburg is in third with a record of 7-4 MIAC, 12-4 Overall. St. Olaf (6-5 MIAC, 8-8 Overall) will travel to Hamline (7-5 MIAC, 11-6 Overall) on Wednesday in another key conference contest. Both teams are on the playoff bubble and a win would go a long way in securing a spot in the six-team field.
Women’s Basketball Wednesday – The St. Catherine (6-7 MIAC, 7-9 Overall) women’s basketball team will play host to Saint Benedict (10-3 MIAC, 12-4 Overall) tomorrow night. Saint Benedict is fourth in the conference standings while St. Kate’s is sixth. The Blazers came away with an 88-63 in St. Joseph when these two teams met in December, but St. Catherine will be looking for revenge on their home court tomorrow.
Making a Splash - The Macalester Invitational is set to take place this Friday and Saturday as several conference men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will travel to the Leonard Center for some tough competition. MIAC women’s teams include Augsburg, St. Catherine and Macalester. For the men, Saint John’s and Macalester will participate. The event begins at 6 p.m. on Friday night and 10 a.m. Saturday morning.
Women’s Hockey Weekend - The Gustavus women's hockey team, which is currently rated #8 in the most recent USCHO.com Division III poll, will face St. Catherine in a key MIAC series this Friday and Saturday. The Gusties are currently in third place in the MIAC standings with 11 points (5-2-1), while the Wildcats are in second place with 12 points (6-2-0). Friday night's game will be played at Don Roberts Ice Rink at Gustavus, while Saturday afternoon's game will be played at noon at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. Seven teams are currently within five points of first place in the MIAC in what is shaping up to be the most hotly contested race for the regular season title in the 12-year history of MIAC women's hockey. Saint Mary’s, currently tied for third in the conference standings, will match up against first-place St. Thomas this weekend in another highly contested series.
MIAC Teams Travel to Stout – Several men’s and women’s track and field teams will be traveling to UW-Stout this Saturday for the Warren Bowlus Open. For the men’s side, Saint Mary’s, Carleton, Macalester, and Augsburg will participate and on the women’s side, Macalester, Saint Mary’s, and Augsburg will join in on the fun. The event is set to start at 12 p.m. Saturday.
Saintly Streak - The Saint John’s basketball team (10-7 Overall, 7-5 MIAC) hosts Saint Mary’s (6-11 Overall, 4-8 MIAC) this Saturday, Jan. 30. The Johnnies are 35-0 all-time against the Cardinals in the Warner Palaestra and have won 39 consecutive meetings at home. The only home loss for SJU to Saint Mary’s under the direction of head coach Jim Smith occurred Jan. 31, 1968, when SJU still played in the Old Gym (80-77 in overtime).
Minnesota National Girls and Women in Sports Day – Some of Minnesota’s most inspiring and influential student-athletes, coaches and athletic leaders will be recognized at an award ceremony on Wednesday, February 3, at 12 p.m. at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. The award ceremony will be conducted in conjunction with the 24th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a nation-wide celebration recognizing the accomplishments of individuals in the promotion and advancement of girls’ and women’s sports. The 2010 ceremony will be honoring 25 individuals who will be receiving awards in five separate categories. All are invited to attend this special event.
A Minnesotan in the Super Bowl - Jeff Seeman, a current MIAC basketball referee and past football official, found out last Wednesday that he has been assigned to work the Super Bowl. Seeman is one of the top line judges in the NFL and will be wearing #45 during the game on Sunday, Feb. 7. Seeman was a member of Dave Lindquist’s crew when he worked in the MIAC.
Inside the Numbers…
64 - The number of points scored by a trio of Saint Mary’s men’s basketball players Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.), Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) in a win over Macalester last Wednesday. They accounted for 64 of the team’s 78 points in the Cardinals’ 78-60 win— including the first 24 points of the second half.
24 - Bethel men’s basketball player Nate Robertson (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) reached the 1,000 point plateau this last week against Saint John's. Robertson, who scored 609 points in two seasons with UW-River Falls, is now the 24th player to reach 1,000 points in a Bethel University uniform.
14 - The Bethel men’s hockey team scored 14 goals in two games against Saint Mary's last weekend, including a nine-goal game on Saturday night. The Royals have not scored that many goals against a conference opponent since the 2006-07 season, when they scored nine against St. Thomas in one game, and 15 in a two-game series with Concordia.
13 - The number of different players that scored points in the Hamline men’s hockey series against St. Thomas last weekend, as well as the number of goals scored in the two games. Hamline split with St. Thomas over the weekend and had 11 different players score goals. Eleven players had a multi-point weekend, led by five points apiece from forward Spencer Anderson (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) and defenseman Chris Berenguer (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.).
11 - The number of three pointers attempted and made by a trio of players on the Hamline men's basketball team in a win at Macalester last Saturday. Brandon Rieg (So., Riverside, Calif.), Dan Andersen (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.), and Ray Brown (Sr., Saint Paul, Minn.) went a combined 11-for-11 in three-pointers. Rieg was 5-for-5, Andersen was 4-for-4, and Brown was 2-for-2 in three-pointers. The Pipers as a whole shot 70.6 percent from that range.
5 - The number of seconds St. Kate's senior track and field athlete Greta Sieve dropped from the 3,000 meter school record that had stood for 11 years. Sieve's time of 10:22.15 shaved five seconds off former MIAC champion Katie Jorgenson's record.
Did You Know?
Augsburg men's hockey captain Chris Johnson (SR, Verona, Wis./Madison Memorial HS) has an interesting connection to the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics. His father, Mark Johnson, is the head coach of the U.S. Olympic women's hockey team (and is also the women's hockey head coach at the University of Wisconsin), and was a member of the "Miracle on Ice" 1980 U.S. Olympic men's hockey gold-medal-winning team. Chris' grandfather was the late "Badger Bob" Johnson, a legendary coach at both the collegiate and pro level. Chris Johnson recently surpassed the 100-point mark for his career, now standing with 102 points (36 goals, 66 assists) in 94 career games as an Auggie.